The Night Before (or Early That Day)

You can cut up the vegetables in advance. Also, if you’re using meat, cut it into small pieces and cook them. If you do that and aren’t using vegetable stock for the liquid, pour three cups of water in the pan at the end of the cooking, then reserve that liquid for the recipe. That’s delicious stuff.

If you’re using dry beans, soak them overnight in water. The next morning, drain the liquid, replace that liquid with water, then boil the beans until they’re well-cooked (this will vary depending on the size of the beans).

Preparing the Meal

First, boil the liquid, add the quinoa, and simmer it for fifteen minutes, stirring it a bit here and there. The quinoa should absorb all of the liquid in the pot.

Turn the oven on to 400 F. Toss the mixed vegetables together and spread them out on a cookie sheet, then bake for 10-15 minutes, turning the vegetables over at the 5 minute mark. Cook the vegetables until they’re perfectly done for your tastes.

If you want to make your own barbecue sauce, you need 1 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons molasses, a dash of garlic powder, a dash or two of chile powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 2 tablespoons water. You can add other things to taste, too – cracked black pepper, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a dash or two of liquid smoke.

Mix these ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl and you’ve got your barbecue sauce!

You can serve the protein (beans), the vegetables, and the quinoa separated (that’s how our kids prefer it):

You can serve them mixed together with barbecue sauce (that’s how I prefer it):

You can also serve them together without barbecue sauce or with the sauce on the side, too:

Optional Ingredients

This recipe is incredibly flexible. You can choose the protein you like – tofu, chicken, beef, beans. You can choose the mixed vegetables you like – broccoli, zucchini, summer squash, corn, cauliflower, etc. You can make your own barbecue sauce however you’d like or just pick up a bottle of it. You can mix everything together or keep it separate on your plate. It’s really a flexible meal that can be made in a way that anyone will like.

Company

Our Brands

Advertising Disclosure: TheSimpleDollar.com has an advertising relationship with some of the offers included on this page. However, the rankings and listings of our reviews, tools and all other content are based on objective analysis. The Simple Dollar does not include all card/financial services companies or all card/financial services offers available in the marketplace. For more information and a complete list of our advertising partners, please check out our full Advertising Disclosure. TheSimpleDollar.com strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information in our reviews could be different from what you find when visiting a financial institution, service provider or a specific product's website. All products are presented without warranty.